Method for painting an embossed pattern on a sheet of material



Sept. 21, 1965 w. L. BAKER 3,207,617

METHOD FOR PAINTING AN EMBOSSED PATTERN ON A SHEET OF MATERIAL Filed Feb. 6, 1962 4 Sheets-Sheet 1 A A I 0 IA 0 /12 1/02 529/". WWW/194.55% I, 29 WWW MZZ'ar/zqys.

Sept. 21, 1965 w. 1.. BAKER 3,207,617

METHOD FOR PAINTING AN EMBOSSED PATTERN ON A SHEET OF MATERIAL Filed Feb. 6, 1962 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 Sept. 21, 1965 w. L. BAKER 3,207,617

METHOD FOR PAINTING AN EMBOSSED PATTERN ON A SHEET 0F MATERIAL Filed Feb. 6, 1962 4 Sheets-Sheet 3 I II II I! ll H I gggggg Zia,

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Sept. 21, 1965 w. BAKER 3,207,617

METHOD FOR PAINTING AN EMBOSSED PATTERN ON A ATERIAL SHEET OF M Filed Feb. 6, 1962 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 [/2 Mentor: VV/W/Is L. Baler; by M Ma /112$ Mtfiarneys.

United States Patent 3,207,617 METHOD FOR PAINTING AN EMBOSSED PAT- TERN ON A SHEET 0F MATERIAL Willis L. Baker, Fort Wayne, Ind, assignor to Plastiwall, Inc., Fort Wayne, Ind. Filed Feb. 6, 1962, Ser. No. 171,476 7 Claims. (Cl. 117-9) This invention relates to an apparatus and method for painting an embossed pattern on a sheet of material, such as plywood, and more particularly to an apparatus and method whereby a complex line pattern may be embossed on a sheet of plywood or the like in a continuous, single operation.

In the furniture and homebuilding industries, sheets of construction material, such as plywood, hardboard and the like, are extensively employed and such sheets are commonly prefinished with a decorative coating of paint. Such coating of paint is conventionally applied by means of a paint-applying roller and a cooperating doctor or metering roller, the paint being fed to a well or trough between the rollers and thus applied to the paint-applying roller and in turn to the sheet which is moved past the roller in engagement therewith. Such roll-coating apparatus is extensively and conventionally employed in the application of single coats of paint to the surface of a sheet of material; however, such roll coaters have not been utilized heretofore in the painting of embossed, complex line patterns onto a sheet of material in a single, continuous operation.

It is therefore an object of this invention to provide apparatus for painting an embossed complex line pattern onto a sheet of plywood or the like in a single, continuous operation.

It is another object to provide apparatus which utilizes a roller for providing an embossed finish on a sheet of plywood or the like material.

It is yet another object of this invention to provide a method for embossing a paint pattern onto a sheet of plywood or the like in a single, continuous operation.

Other objects will become apparent as the description proceeds.

The above-mentioned and other features and objects of this invention and the manner of attaining them will be come more apparent and the invention itself will be best understood by reference to the following description of an embodiment of the invention taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, wherein:

FIG. 1 is a diagrammatic illustration of one apparatus of this invention;

FIG. 2 is a front elevation of one of the roll-coating stations of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a part sectional illustration taken substantially along section line 3-3 of FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is a front elevation of another roll-coating station which may be used in the apparatus of FIG. 1;

FIG. 5 is a partial sectional illustration taken substantially along section line 5-5 of FIG. 4;

FIG. 6 is a fragmentary sectional illustration of two of the rollers of one of the roll-coating stations of the apparatus of FIG. 1; and

FIG. 7 is another partial sectional illustration of the grooved roller of one of the roll-coating stations of the apparatus of FIG. 1 in the process of embossing a pattern on a sheet of material.

Referring to the drawings, and more particularly to FIG. 1, the apparatus therein disclosed is shown in diagram as including four roll-coating stations indicated generally by the reference numerals 10, 12, 14 and 16, respectively. The first three of these roll-coating stations 10, 12 and 14 are preferably identically constructed, each station including three cylindrically shaped rollers which are operatively engaged with each other. Station 10 has rollers 18, 20 and 22, station 12 has rollers 18c, 20c and 220, and station 14 has rollers 18d, 20d and 22d. A description of station 10 will suffice for all three of these stations. The two rollers 18 and 20 of each station are mounted on shafts for rotation about horizontal axes, these axes being horizontally separated as shown and the rollers being engaged to provide a paint trough 24 there between. The roller 22 is also mounted for rotation about a horizontal axis and is vertically spaced from roller 20 to receive therebetween in rolling engagement a sheet 26 of material such as plywood, hardboard or the like. Generally speaking, paint is retained in the trough 24 formed between the two rollers 18 and 20 whereby the surface of the roller 20 is wetted as it revolves in counter-clockwise direction of the arrow. The sheet 26 is also moved in the direction of the arrow or toward the right as viewed in the drawing whereby the paint on the surface on the roll 20 is transferred to the upper surface of the sheet 26. This process is one continuous operation until the sheet passes through all of the stations 10, 12, 14 and 16. The particular structure of each station 10, 12 and 14 is shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, which will now be described.

Referring to FIGS. 2 and 3, two tables 28 and 30 have coplanar horizontally disposed work-supporting surfaces 32 and 34, respectively, for supporting sheet 26 which is to be painted. These two tables 28 and 30 are spaced apart so as to receive the supporting roller 22 therebetween, the uppermost surface of this roller 22 lying in the same plane as the work-supporting surfaces 32 and 34.

For supporting the three rollers 18, 20 and 22 there are provided two rigid upright frame members 36 and 38 which are spaced apart and which are provided with bearings for receiving the opposite ends respectively of the shafts 40, 42 and 44 of the three rollers 18, 20 and 22 respectively. A motor 46 mounted on the upright support 38 is attached to the shaft 42 for imparting rotation to the roller 20. By reason of the operative contact of the other two rollers 18 and 22 with the roller 20, it is thus seen that all three rollers may be rotated; however, in a preferred embodiment of the invention, the roller 22 may also be powered.

Two dam plates 48 and 50, respectively, engage the opposite ends of the rollers 18 and 20, thereby closing the ends of the trough 24, which, as already explained, carries a quantity of liquid paint therein. It may now be mentioned that the apparatus of FIGS. 2 and 3 thus far described is conventional in the tnade for painting a sheet of construction material, and for this reason it does not need any further elaboration. In departing from the conventional constructions, the two rollers 18 and 20 are preferably fabricated of stainless steel which is chrome-plated. In contrast therewith, each roller 20 carries a carpet covering on the outer periphery thereof, this covering having a nap which extends radially outwardly as shown more clearly in FIG. 6. In this FIG. 6, the roller on the left-hand side is shown as being provided with a carpeted surface. This carpeted surface preferably comprises a section of Wilton-weave, nylon carpeting in tubular form which is telescoped over the outer surface of the roller 20, the pile on the carpeting projecting radially outwardly. This carpeted liner preferably is fabricated in accordance with the disclosure of my invention covered by my application Serial No. 160,- 366, entitled Paint-Applying Device, as filed on December 18, 1961, now abandoned.

In operation, the motor 46 rotates the roller 20. Be cause of the frictional contact of the roller 18 with the roller 20, the roller 18 is rotated clockwise. The sheet of material 26 passes between and is engaged by both of the rollers 20 and 22 whereby the rotation of the latter moves the sheet 26 in the direction of the arrow F. Thus, once the sheet 26 is entered between the two rollers 20 and 22, it is moved forwardly in a right-hand direction until it is passed completely between the two rollers 20 and 22.

As previously mentioned, the three roll-coating stations 10,- 12 and 14 may be identically constructed as already described in connection with the machine of FIGS. 2 and 3. However, these stations are spaced apart so as to receive the nozzle 52 between the two stations and 12 and a sand-scattering apparatus 54 between the stations 12 and 14. The purpose of the first station 10 is to apply a coat of paint to the upper surface of the sheet 26. As this sheet moves beneath the nozzle 52, it is covered with a layer of randomly dispersed short lengths of glass fiber or roving, these lengths of roving preferably being one to two inches long; however, this length may vary to suit a particular purpose. While the nozzle 52 is shown, delivery of the rovings to the upper surface of the sheet 26 may be accomplished by any suitable means, such as by means of an air blast issuing from the nozzle 52 itself or by merely manually scattering the fibers over the surface according to the desired distribution. If the fibers are blown onto the sticky surface, the nozzle is moved along so as to leavethe fibers adhering flatwise in suflicient number to yield a fibrous or textrous affect while permitting some area of the wood surface as coated with the paint material to appear between the fibers. Another method of applying the fibers or cut roving to the sheet is by the use of a cutter as described in Anderson Patent No. 2,787,314, this cutter serving to cut long lengths of glass roving into the desired shorter lengths and blow them in an irregular dispersion over the surface of the sheet 26.

After receiving the roving indicated by the numeral 54, the sheet progresses to station 12 where it receives another coating of paint over the cut roving. The rovings are thereby not only flattened onto the sheet surface but also are covered with another coating of paint.

Following this, as the sheet or panel 26 progresses in moving toward the right, silica sand from the conventional, vibrating depositor 54 .is shaken or otherwise dropped onto the panel surface, following which it is immediately covered by a coat of paint from the station 14. While a vibrating mechanism 54 is shown as depositing sand onto the-panel surface, the sand may be manually scattered thereonto. This sand is scattered in a substantially even and continuous layerwhereby the consistency of the paint on the panel surface is thereby thickened.

The paint used in the stations 10, 12 and 14 and in one embodiment of this invention in the station 16 is preferably a modified vinyl hydrocarobn resin reduced with acetate, the resin portion being 24% to 32% by weight of the total, and the acetate portion being 68% to 74% by weight of the total. For the resin, 28% by weight is considered optimum. For a further description of this particular resin, reference is made to my application for a Roofing Panel, Serial No. 131,870, filed August 16, 1961, now abandoned.

The panel 26 now leaves the station 14 and proceeds to the station 16 where the paint and its sand aggregate is embossed by means of the roll-coating apparatus illustrated in FIGS. 4, 5, 6 and 7. This apparatus will now be described with like numerals indicating like parts. This station 16 may take two difierent forms, one of these forms being very similar to the preceding stations 10, 12 and 14 and the other being like that shown in FIGS. 4 and 5. The first of the aforementioned forms utilizes three rollers 18a, 20a and 22a all arranged the same as their counterparts 18, 20 and 22, respectively, of the preceding stations. However, the roller 1811 instead of being stainless steel chrome-plated carries a carpet covering thereon the same as the preceding roller 20. The

roller 22a is like its counterpart roller 22, being stainless steel, chrome-plated. The roller 20a, however, is substantially different and as shown in cross-section in FIG. 7 is provided on its periphery with a rubber or neoprene liner 58 which, in a roll-coating machine of conventional size, is approximately inch thick. For neoprene, 60-durometer grade is found to be most satisfactory. A series of both axially extending and peripheral grooves 60 are cut or formed in the outer periphery of the liner 58 as shown, the precise pattern and arrangement of these grooves 60 depending upon the pattern or design which is desired in the finished product. As illustrated, these grooves 60 in FIG. 4 are at right angles to each other; however, these grooves may be helical, spirally shaped, or otherwise randomly arranged to provide intricate patterns as may be desired. The grooves are preferably formed about inch deep with the sides 62 thereof extending inwardly toward each other at an angle of about 45, the base or bottom of the grooves being substantially flat or slightly curved as shown. The width of the grooves 60 at the outer periphery of the liner 58 is, in a working embodiment of this invention, about 4 inch wide. The spaces 64 on the outer periphery of the liner 58 between adjacent grooves 60 may be considered as lands, the lands 64 between all grooves lying in a common cylindrical surface as shown.

In the embodiment of the station 16 as shown in FIG. 1, the car-pete-d roller 18a engages the grooved roller 2011 with just enough force so as to prevent the paint in the trough 24 from dropping through the grooves. In this engagement between the two rollers 18a and 201:, the fibers constituting the outer surface of the roll 18a enter the grooves 60 and make contact with the sides and bottom thereof. It should also be noted in this embodiment that only the roller 20a is connected to a motor such as motor 46 of FIG. 2, the rotation of the roller 18a being derived from the roller 20a.

The panel sheet 26 as it emerges from the station 14 is now' fed to the station 16 which is provided with a quantity of paint in the trough 24. The roller 18a is adjusted to engage the roller 20a with just enough force such that as the grooves 60 leave cont-act with the roller 18a, a quantity of paint will remain therein.

As the peripheral surface of the roller 20a engages the upper surface of the panel 26, thepaint and sand aggregate is thereby embossed in a manner as shown more clearly in FIG. 7, the lands 64 on the roller squeezing the paint and sand aggregate rearwardly into the spaces of the groove 60 thereby resulting in only a thin fi-lm of paint and glass fiber remaining in the spaces 66 (FIG. 7) and piled paint and sand aggregate occupying the spaces indicated by the numeral 68. The paint in the grooves 60 is added to the panel 26 and more specifically to the piles or embossmen-ts 68.

Therefore, as the panel 26 leaves the station 16, it will have an embossed finish there-on wherein the valleys tend to expose the fibrous texture of the glass roving and the hills or pile consist of paint and sand aggregate.

Not only is it possible to produce an embossed finish with the apparatus of FIG. 1 as just explained, it is possible to provide this finish in various colors. For example, if a total of three colors are desired, the first station 10 may be provided with buff-colored paint, the stations 12 and 14 with white paint and the station 16 with blue paint. In the finished panel as it is shown in FIG. 7, the valleys 66 in the embossed finish will appear as a buff color, while the hills will have both white and blue streaks thereon. As a matter of fact, by adjusting the force with which the roller 18a engages the roller 20a, only the rear (lefthand) edges of the piles 68 of the embossed finish (FIG. 7) will carry a blue line therealong, the carpeting on the roller 18a serving to place the blue paint in the aft portions of the grooves 60.:

While multicolored, embossed finishes may be obtained as just explained, the character of the coloring may be altered by adjusting the force with which the rollers 18a and 200 are engaged with each other. A light engagement will result in the grooves 60 being substantially filled with paint before engagement of the roller a with the panel 26. This will color the piles 68 (FIG. 7) with a substantially blue color the same as used in the final station 16. However, if this force of engagement between the two rollers 18a and 20a is increased, then a lesser amount of paint will be deposited in the grooves 60 which thereby results in lining the aft edges of the pile 68 with the blue color .as already explained.

Now a different and second embodiment of the inven- .tion will be explained in connection with station 16.

This embodiment is more precisely shown in FIGS. 4 and 5 wherein the same grooved roller 20a is used but instead of a roller on the aft side of the roller 20a, a roller 18b substantially identical to the roller 18a is mounted on the front or right-hand side. The two rollers 18b .and 20a are engaged the same as the previously described rollers.

On the frame members 36 and 38 is mounted a vacuumcleaning device indicated generally by the reference nurneral 70. This device 70 comprises an elongated housing, having a length substantially equal to the roller 200, which has a slotted nozzle 72 as shown more clearly in FIG. 5. The opening or slot in this nozzle 72 is substantially the same length as the roller 20a and extends parallel with the roller axis. The vacuum-cleaning device 70 preferably is disposed immediately adjacent the top side of the roller 20a.

Then interposed between the vacuum-cleaning device 70 and the carpeted roller 18b is a series of nozzles 74 which are mounted on a supply pipe 76 supported on the frame end 36 substantially parallel to the surface of the roller 20a. The nozzles 74 are spaced apart and .are directed to spray a solvent onto the surface of the roller 200.

In this arrangement, no paint is used. In distinct contrast therewith, the roller 20a is deliberately kept clean of paint, the cleaning being accomplished by the vacuum cleaner 70, the spray nozzles 74 and the carpeted roller 18b. In operation, a vacuum of at least lO-inches is produced .by the vacuum cleaner 70, thereby sucking any foreign material on the roller 20:: upwardly through the nozzle 72 and out of the device 70. A suitable paint solvent is sprayed from nozzles 74 onto the surface of the roller 20a at intermittent times, this solvent serving to dissolve and loosen any material on the roller surface. The carpeting on the roller 18b also tends to loosen and wipe clean the surface of the roller 20a.

The panel 26 after having been previously coated with the paint and aggregate by the preceding stations 10, 12 and 14 is next passed under the roller 20a. This roller 20a engages the upper surface of the panel 26 with just enough force to produce the embossed pattern as shown in FIG. 7. The lands 64 provide the valleys 66 while the grooves 60 provide the piles or ridges 68.

If any sand, paint or chopped roving should be picked up by the roller 20a, it will be carried upwardly and first loosened by the carpeting on the roller 1812 which, after a period of time, becomes soaked with the solvent from the spray 74. Following this, the surface of the roller continues upwardly to receive a spray from the nozzle 74 which further loosens the sand and paint following which the sand .and paint is sucked upwardly into the nozzle 72 by the vacuum cleaner 73. Thus, the surface of the roll 20a may be kept clean for producing a well defined and distinct embossed pattern on the panel 26. While the vacuum cleaner 70 may operate continuously, the spray 74 need be operated only intermittently with enough frequency to keep the material on the surface of the roller 20a loosened.

The carpeting of the roller 18b is shown in FIG. 6 as having fibers which extend radially outwardly therefrom such that they not only engage the land-s 64 of the roller 20a but they also extend into and have wiping contact 6 with the sides and bottom of the grooves 60. The particular force with which the two rollers 18b and 20a engage each other should be adjusted to obtain the precise amount of cleaning and wiping contact desired.

In obtaining the desired finish, it is found that the paint viscosity should be -Kreb units. The durometer of the neoprene used for the roller 20a should be sixty (60). The solvent which is sprayed from the nozzles 74 may vary to suit the particular types of paint being used, but in one arrangement it consists of 50% toluol, 30% isopropyl alcohol (91% anhydrous), and 20% methyl isobutyl ketone.

After the panel leaves station 16, the paint may be either air dried or dried by means of ovens conventionally used in the art.

While I have described above the principles of my invention in connection with specific apparatus, it is to be clearly understood that this description is made only by way of example and not as a limitation to the scope of my invention.

What is claimed is:

1. The method of producing an embossed painted surface comprising the steps of applying a coat of liquid paint to a surface, mixing sand with said coat of paint to thereby provide a layer of sand and paint on said surface, and rolling a grooved roller over said surface and said wet paint-sand mixture whereby the lands and recesses of said roller provide an embossed pattern on said surface.

2. The method of producing an embossed painted surface comprising the steps of applying a coat of liquid paint to a surface, mixing sand with said coat of paint to thereby provide a layer of sand and paint on said surface, rolling a grooved roller over said surface and said wet paint-sand mixture whereby the lands and recesses of said roller provide an embossed pattern on said surface, and maintaining said grooved roller clean of any sand and paint that adheres thereto during a rolling operation.

3. The method of applying a multi-colored embossed surface to a sheet of material comprising the steps of ap plying a base coat of a first color liquid paint to said sheet of material, immediately thereafter depositing a layer of sand on said base coat, applying a coat of liquid paint over said sand, and rolling a grooved roller over the surface of said sheet while the paint thereon is Wet, said roller being provided with differently colored liquid paint in the grooves thereof, whereby the lands of said roller displaces the paint on said sheet to the regions engaged by said grooves with the paint in said roller grooves being deposited on top of the displaced paint to thereby provide a multicolored embossed finish.

4. The method of producing a decorative embossed surface comprising the steps of applying a first coating of liquid paint to a fiat surface, depositing a layer of sand onto said coating, applying a second coating of liquid paint over said layer of sand, displacing the sand and paint mixture while said paint is wet in directions substantially parallel to said surface into a pattern of ridges and valleys, and drying said paint for solidifying said pattern.

5. The method of claim 4 wherein said paint has a viscosity of about eighty-five (85) Kreb units.

6. The method of producing a decorative embossed surface comprising the steps of applying a first coating of liquid paint of a first color to a surface, depositing a layer of sand onto said coating, applying a second coating of liquid paint of said first color over said layer of sand, displacing the sand and paint mixture while said paint is wet in directions substantially parallel to said surface into a pattern of ridges and valleys, simultaneously with said displacing step applying paint of a second color to ones of said ridges thereby providing a multi-colored pattern, and drying said paint for solidifying said pattern.

7. The method of producing a decorative embossed surface comprising the steps of applying a first coating of liquid paint to a surface, depositing a first layer of randomly dispersed short lengths of glass fiber onto said coating, flattening said short lengths of glass fiberonto said surface, applying a second coating of liquid paint over said layer, depositing a second layer of sand onto said second coating of paint, applying a third coating of liquid paint over said layer of sand, displacing the sand and paint while said paint is Wet in directions substantially parallel to said surface into a pattern of ridges and valleys with the valleys having at least partially exposed the aforesaid fibers, and drying said paint to solidify said pattern.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 8 Preford 118102 Johnson 117-10 Harrigan 117-111 Jackson 117--29 X Rennie 15-4 X Haracz 1179 Prentice 118102 Park 117-9 Fox 1179 Worth 101219 McBride 1l710 Kuhnel 1177 WILLIAM D. MARTIN, Primary Examiner. 15 RICHARD D. NEVIUS, Examiner. 

1. THE METHOD OF PRODUCING AN EMBOSSED PAINTED SURFACE COMPRISING THE STEPS OF APPLYING A COAT OF LIQUID PAINT TO A SURFACE, MIXING SAND WITH SAID COAT OF PAINT TO THEREBY PROVIDE A LAYER OF SAND AND PAINT ON SAID SURFACE, AND ROLLING A GROOVED ROLLER OVER SAID SURFACE AND SAID WET PAINT-SAND MIXTURE WHEREBY THE LANDS AND RECESSES OF SAID ROLLER PROVIDE AN EMBOSSED PATTERN ON SAID SURFACE. 